Patriots Daily: Four Free Agents Workout in Foxboro

New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo stated yesterday that the team was bringing in offensive linemen for workouts in Foxboro. However, reports indicate that while the Patriots did host four free agents for workouts yesterday, only one of those players was an offensive lineman. Furthermore, none of the players played offensive tackle, the position most concerning for New England.

ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported the four players who were brought in for workouts as RB Nick Bawden, WR Isaiah Ford, TE Neal Johnson, and OC Mike Novitzky.

The Patriots had the following free agents in for workouts today: RB Nick Bawden (San Diego State), WR Isaiah Ford (Virginia Tech), TE Neal Johnson (Louisiana-Lafayette) and C Mike
Novitsky (Kansas).

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) August 9, 2024

Nick Bawden plays a position the New England Patriots have not been utilizing: fullback. New England has not employed a fullback since parting ways with Jakob Johnson before the 2022 season. Bawden began his NFL career with the Detroit Lions before spending the past three seasons with the New York Jets. He played 16 games for the Jets in 2023, primarily used as a blocker. He finished with only two carries and three receptions.

Isaiah Ford, like Bawden, has been in the NFL since 2017. He has had stints with the Dolphins, Patriots, Colts, and Bears. He has not appeared in an NFL game since 2021. New England traded a conditional seventh-round pick for Ford in 2020 but waived him a month later.

Neal Johnson signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL Draft. He was waived last week before their preseason schedule began. Johnson played collegiately for the Lousiana Ragin’ Cajuns. He finished his college career with 101 receptions for 1,196 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Mike Novitsky began his college career at Buffalo before finishing with the Kansas Jayhawks. Has good size at 6-foot-5 and 305 pounds. The New England Patriots could be looking for roster replacement for Jake Andrews, who landed on season-ending IR earlier this week.

Will the Patriots end up signing any of these players? Stay tuned.

Also in Saturday’s Patriots Daily:

Patriots Fact of the Day

The 2023 New England Patriots finished 4-13. It was the fourth time in franchise history they lost at least 13 games. A look at the previous three times and how the Patriots fared the following season:

1981 Patriots (2-14); 1982 Patriots (5-4)*
1990 Patriots (1-15); 1991 Patriots (6-10)
1992 Patriots (2-14); 1993 Patriots (5-11)

*strike-shortened season

Post of the Day

Highlights of Neal Johnson, who worked out for the Patriots yesterday, courtesy of Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Football:

𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐋 is a big 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐋

Following his two-touchdown performance, @nealjohnsonjr earned this week's @DudleyDeBosier 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸!#cULture | #GeauxCajuns pic.twitter.com/wxnIvvL5Dy

— Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns® Football (@RaginCajunsFB) November 29, 2023

PFF’s Best New England Patriots Performances vs. Carolina – The Patriots beat the Panthers 17-3 in their preseason opener. Pro Football Focus graded the individual performances. Among those receiving props were veterans (Jeremiah Pharms Jr.), draft picks (Joe Milton III), and UDFAs (JaQuae Jackson).

New England Patriots Release JuJu Smith-Schuster – After a disappointing 2022 season and struggles in training camp, JuJu Smith-Schuster was let go by the Patriots. The move leaves New England with a lot of dead money. It also leaves their young wide receivers room with additional opportunities to show what they can do.

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